Book store customer&#39;s cart



June 13, 1967 s. ELCHUCK I 3,325,183

BOOK STORE CUSTOMERS CA RT Filed Feb. 14, 1966 INVENTOR.

STEVE ELCHUCK n/ w/z ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,325,133 BUOK STORECUSTGMERS CART Steve Elchuclr, 815 N. Park Ave., Tucson, Ariz. 85719Filed Feb. 14, 1966, Ser. No. 527,118 8 Claims. (Cl. 280-47.34)

My invention relates in general to a book store customers cart, and morein particular, to a book store customers cart primarily adapted for usein college book stores where text books and books for required readingare purchased.

Book stores on or near college campuses, usually privately owned orworking cooperatively with college faculties, frequently sell twenty tofifty books to a single student required in the course which he istaking in a given semester. These books may comprise hard cover boundbooks, frequently sold back to the book store, and then sold assecond-hand books, but almost always include relatively large numbers ofpaper bound books required for reference purposes or for requiredreading, such as in an English course. In the past, students have beenrequired to purchase these books a few at a time because of theinability to carry more than a certain number of books loosely in thearms. In those instances in which students have purchased all of theirrequired books, the practise has been followed usually of picking out abook at a time from the shelves and accumulating them at some convenientlocation, and then carrying them a few at a time to a checkout desk.Dropping and mutilation of books is common under such circumstances, andthe hit or miss method of selecting and purchasing the books representsa serious problem, not only to the students, but to the owners andoperators of the book store.

Accordingly, the principal object of my present invention is theprovision of a book store customers cart particularly adapted for usefor college students who are required to select and purchase arelatively large number of books at one time.

Another object is the provision of such a cart which may carry arelatively large number of books and maintain such perfect balance as tominimize the possibility of being upset if it should be rolled over anobstruction or along an incline.

A further object is the provision of a book cart of the type identifiedin which the books are lodged in a position convenient to the purchaserand convenient to the checkout desk where they are paid for.

A still further object is the provision of a book store cart of the typeidentified which may be moved freely in a forward, backward, sidewise orrotary fashion with out danger of upsetting, whether the cart is beingused in close quarters within the book store or taken out to the parkinglot for delivery of the books to a waiting automobile.

Other specific objects and features of the invention will be apparentfrom thefollowing detailed description taken with the accompanyingdrawings, where FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of theinvention shown ready for use, with an open top receptacle in positionfor carrying small objects, lists of required books, or any other smallobjects being purchased or used by the operator of the cart.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line of 2-2, of FIG. 1, andshowing the forward swivelable caster, and one of the rear swivelablecasters in elevation.

FIG. 3 is as lightly enlarged fragmentary perspective view showing onesuitable way of carrying hard cover books which are usually purchased assingle volumes.

FIG. 4 is a plan view taken at a partial slant to illustrate moreaccurately the relative positions of some of the parts.

FIG. 5 shows a conventional stack of books bound together, usually paperbound books and commonly so purchased for required reading or requiredreference PUT-1 poses.

The book cart of the present invention comprises a unitary structureexcept for the opened top container 10, and the swivelable supportingcasters. The unitary structure comprises thereof a bottom shelf 11 ofsuitable sheet metal and an intermediate shelf 12, welded to pairs oftubular uprights 13 and 14 on one side and 16 and 17 on the oppositeside. These tubular uprights are connected together to a rectangularassembly indicated generally by the reference character 18 (see FIG. 4)and having four sides, 19, 21, 22, and 23.

As will be noted by reference to FIGS. 1 and 4, the side 19 comprises acontinuation of the upright 13, while the side 21 comprises acontinuation of the upright 16. The sides 19 and 21 are welded togetherat the corner 24, while the sides 22 and 23 comprise a single piecestructure bent to form the corner 26 and having their ends butt weldedinto lateral portions of the sides 19 and 21. This arrange ment not onlyprovides very rugged structure, but with a triangular shelf 27positioned somewhat below, the rectangular frame portion 18 forms asupport for the open topped container 10.

A handle member 28 is welded to the corner 24 while the handle member 29is welded to the corner 26. It will be noted, particularly by referenceto FIG. 4, that on opposite sides of their point of attachment, thehandle members 26 and 29 are slightly out-flared and each of their endscarries a rubber or plastic grip 31 suitably shaped to be attached tothe ends of the: handle members and provide a convenient outer surfacefor engagement by the hands of the user. Illustratively, grips 31 may bepractically identical with the ordinary handle bar grip on a bicycle.

The shelf 12 comprises essentially a square plate, but with one cornercut away as at 32. The adjacent sides 33 and 34 are welded to thecontiguous uprights 13 and 14 on the one hand and 16- and 17 on theother hand. Thus, it is obvious that the two pairs of uprights form aright angle with respect to each other.

The bottom shelf 11 is somewhat larger than shelf 12 and is alsorectangular and preferably square. It also has a cutaway portion 35. Thefour uprights are butt welded to the top face of the bottom shelf 11adjacent to the shelf sides 36 and 37. In effect, the parts described upto the present point comprise the basic unitary frame of the cart, andthis frame supported on swivelable casters in a manner to be described.This frame, with other features, produces marked stability in the cartunder all conditions of use.

A forward caster 38 is carried at the bottom of a short pipe 39, the topof which is welded to the bottom of the bottom of shelf 11 at theforward corner thereof. The two side casters 41 are supported at thebottom ends of frame members 42, which include a vertical portion, asshown, for receipt of the casters and an angled portion 43, which isbutt welded to the contiguous uprights 13 and 14, as the drawings show.Bracing members 44 consists of relatively short straight sections ofpipe welded to the uprights 13 and 16 at one end and to the generalvertical section of the frame members 42v at the other end. Thesupporting structures for the two rear casters 41 lie in planes at rightangles to each other for best performance in accordance with my ownexperimentation, but these angles may be modified somewhat withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. As will be seen,the supporting casters lie outside the center of weight of the framewhether empty or loaded with a maximum load of books.

There are still other features which I have found important in a generalpositioning of the frame members and shelves. Looking at FIG. 2, it willbe noted that the angle B between the shelves 11 and 12 of the uprightsis less than a right angle and preferably comprises an angle betweenabout 87 degrees and 80- degrees. I have found that when this angle isestablished at 85 degrees, very good results are obtained formaintaining balance and assuring retention of the books on the shelves,even though the cart is being manipulated rather vigorously by the user.I have also found it to be very advantageous to slope the frame membersbackward with respect to the horizontal, that is, they should slope froma direction of the forward swivelable caster 38 in a direction towardthe swivelable casters 41. I have found this angle A also preferablybetween about 87 and 80 degrees to horizontal (the exact angle dependssomewhat upon the positioning of the casters 41), but here again, I havefound 7 an angle of 85 degrees to be very satisfactory as a standard.The angle of the shelves themselves with respect to the uprights and theangles of the uprights with respect to the horizontal results in theshelves being at an increased angle to the horizontal. Thus, when theangles A and B are both 85 degrees, the shelves 11 and 12 Will define a10 degree to the horizontal and thus have the effect very definitely ofcausing the books to lodge firmly against the uprights, even whenvigorous manipulation action is resorted to, such as is common withstudents when making selections of books for their classes.

While dimensions may vary exceedingly, I have -btained excellent resultswhen an overall height of the cart is about 45 inches from the floorwith a distance of about 18 inches between the two shelves, and adistance of about 22 inches from the middle shelf 12 to the top of thecart. Since the proportions shown are relative, the general dimensionsand proportions of the several parts of the cart should be readilyunderstandable to those skilled in the art.

One of the essentials of a smoothly operating cart is the use of a topgrade swivelable caster with relatively little friction to resistrolling and relatively little friction to resist swiveling action. Thiscombination permits the user to engage any two of the handles 31 to pushthe cart in a forward, backward, sidewise or curvilinear manner as he isprogressing from one side of the book stalls to another in selecting hisbooks. Relatively heavy objects, whatever their nature may be, shouldnormally be carried on the bottom shelf 11. It is common practice inbook stores catering to the needs of students to tie into a bundle, asshown in FIG. 5, a relatively large group of books, such as books whichare required reading in an English courseor any other course for thatmatterand these are commonly bound together with cord and can be pickedup by the student and dropped on the bottom shelf 11. Usually whenindividual books are involved, they are placed on shelf 12 in thegeneral manner shown in FIG. 3. They may be so large as to overlap theedges of this shelf without impairing the stability of the cart, andthis stability is maintained even though the books may be piled to thetop of the space available on shelf 12, and with no books on shelf 11.The rectangular mem ber 18 not only acts to reinforce the top of thecart where the uprights terminate, but, with the triangular shelf 27secured to the two uprights 14 and 17, acts as a support for the opentop container 10. Suitably, this container is formed of plastic and iswedged in place when it is pushed down against the triangular shelf 27.It may be used to carry a list of books required. Frequently, the bookstores arrange the books on shelves in accordance with a classification,and list above the book shelves the books required for the variouscollege courses. Small items of all kinds, however, such as pencils,erasers, rulers, drawing instruments, or the like, may be placed in thiscontainer for easy checkout at the checkout station.

Looking at the cart from the standpoint of the overall assembly thereof,it will be noted that the three casters define an equilateral triangle,with the forward caster supported from the bottom shelf 11 being theapex of such angle. It should be noted also that the two shelves aregenerally rectangular, although one corner is cut ofi to avoidprojection of such corner to the rear of the cart,

but that the contiguous sides of the rectangular and preferably squareshelves are secured to the two sides of the uprights, with the other twosides of the shelves at right angles to the plane of the uprights. Itshould be obvious also that while suitably and advantageously theseshelves are rectangular with a sharp forward corner, a rounding of thecontiguous sides and of the forward rectangular corner, if resorted tofor aesthetic or safety purposes, would not affect the function of theseshelves in any way. It is also a fundamental criterion of the cart ofthe present invention that the swivelable casters be so placed that theyare always outside the center of gravity of whatever load may be carriedby the cart. It may be pointed out that while I have obtained veryexcellent operation by using only the single intermediate shelf 12,additional shelves can be provided if special circumstances shouldindicate their need.

Notwithstanding the detailed description of a preferred embodiment ofthe invention, its scope is defined by the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A book store customers cart comprising:

(a) Two groups of parallel uprights, the planes in which such two groupsfall defining a right angle,

(b) A generally rectangular bottom shelf secured to bottom ends of saiduprights with its sides parallel to and at right angles to the planes ofsaid uprights,

(c) Means securing said uprights together at their upper ends,

(d) A second rectangular shelf intermediate said last mentioned meansand said bottom shelf,

(e) A swivable supporting caster at a forward inner edge of said bottomshelf,

(f) A pair of supports projecting outwardly from said bottom shelfgenerally at right angles to each other, and

(g) Swivable supporting casters carried by said supports,

(h) Said three casters defining an equilateral triangle With saidforward caster as the apex of said triangle and said casters extendingoutwardly beyond a center of gravity of said cart regardless of the loadof books thereon.

2. A cart as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for securing saiduprights at their upper ends comprises a rectangular open frame.

3. A cart as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for securing saiduprights at their upper ends comprises a rectangular open frame, and anopen top container, and means, including a projection from at least oneof said uprights for securing said container Within said open frame.

4. A book store cart as defined in claim 1, wherein said uprights slantslightly away from the forward caster to define an angle with ahorizontal frame of about degrees.

5. A book store cart as defined in claim 1, wherein said uprights slantslightly away from the forward caster to define an angle with ahorizontal frame of about 85 degrees and said shelves are at an angle ofabout 85 degrees to the uprights so as to slopeinwardly toward theuprights at an angle of about 10 degrees to a horizontal support onwhich the casters rest.

6. A cart as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for securing saiduprights at their upper ends comprises a rectangular open frame, and atleast one operating handle with a mid-point thereof integral with acorner of said open frame.

7. A cart as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for securing saiduprights at their upper ends comprises a rectangular open frame and aaligned handles with thin mid-points integral with opposite corners ofsaid rectangular frame.

pair of mutually generally 8. A book store customers cart comprising:

(a) A pair of generally rectangular shelfs,

(b) Four tubular uprights arranged in pairs at contiguous side edges ofsaid shelves, said pairs being formed in planes at right angles to eachother,

(e) Said tubular uprights having their ends integral with one shelf toform a bottom shelf thereof, and to a second shelf to form anintermediate shelf thereof,

(d) An open rectangular frame integral with said tubular uprights attheir tops, to form an integral frame,

(e) At least three swivable casters supported on said frame outside acenter of gravity thereof,

(f) A pair of generally parallel handles integral with corners of saidrectangular frame, at mid-point of said handles,

(g) Said uprights slanting in a direction away from said shelves todefine an angle of about 85 degrees with a horizontal surface on whichthe casters rest, and said shelves defining an angle of about 85 degrees to said uprights to define an angle of about 5 10 degrees with thehorizontal to cause books supported on said shelves to have a tendencyto slide toward said uprights.

References Cited 10 UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,454,710 5/ 1923 Drinkwater28079.1 X 2,611,622 9/1952 Kern kamp 280-791 X 3,024,036 3/ 1962Reynolds 2 8 0--79r1 15 FOREIGN PATENTS 980,834 1/1965 Great Britain.

BENJAMIN HERSH, Primary Examiner.

20 C. C. PARSONS, Assistant Examiner.

1. A BOOK STORE CUSTOMER''S CART COMPRISING: (A) TWO GROUPS OF PARALLELUPRIGHTS, THE PLANES IN WHICH SUCH TWO GROUPS FALL DEFINING A RIGHTANGLE, (B) A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR BOTTOM SHELF SECURED TO BOTTOM ENDSOF SAID UPRIGHTS WITH ITS SIDES PARALLEL TO AND AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THEPLANES OF SAID UPRIGHTS, (C) MEANS SECURING SAID UPRIGHTS TOGETHER ATTHEIR UPPER ENDS, (D) A SECOND RECTANGULAR SHELF INTERMEDIATE SAID LASTMENTIONED MEANS AND SAID BOTTOM SHELF, (E) A SWIVABLE SUPPORTING CASTERAT A FORWARD INNER EDGE OF SAID BOTTOM SHELF, (F) A PAIR OF SUPPORTSPROJECTING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID BOTTOM SHELF GENERALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES TOEACH OTHER, AND (G) SWIVABLE SUPPORTING CASTERS CARRIED BY SAIDSUPPORTS, (H) SAID THREE CASTERS DEFINING AN EQUILATERAL TRIANGLE WITHSAID FORWARD CASTER AS THE APEX OF SAID TRIANGLE AND SAID CASTERSEXTENDING OUTWARDLY BEYOND A CENTER OF GRAVITY OF SAID CART REGARDLESSOF THE LOAD OF BOOKS THEREON.